IIJ Announces the IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series

TOKYO-May 23, 2012-Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ, NASDAQ: IIJI, TSE1: 3774), one of Japan's leading Internet access and comprehensive network solutions providers, today announced that it will begin offering the IIJ GIO Component Service Virtual Platform VW Series ("IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series") in August 2012. The series will be newly added to the IIJ GIO Service lineup of cloud services, which was originally launched in December 2009.

When the IIJ GIO service was first launched, it was available for two kinds of servers: virtual servers and dedicated servers. The IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series, however, provides a virtualized platform on the same service platform, newly adopting VMware vSphere as a virtual technology and EMC Unified Storage as a storage product. In contrast with virtual and dedicated servers up to now, the IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series allows clients to freely design and set up an OS and applications on a virtualized platform, making it easy to create cloud-based systems tailored to their operation environments and other conditions.

Cloud services have been increasingly used as a platform for corporate systems since 2010. As of March 31, 2012, IIJ GIO has been adopted for over 1,000 such systems. More than half of customers using IIJ GIO employ it via closed network WAN services instead of the Internet, reflecting a strong preference to utilize IIJ GIO as a private rather than public cloud platform for setting up in-house systems. Recognizing this preference for private cloud services among corporations, IIJ developed the IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series by drawing on its know-how and technical expertise acquired through the development of IIJ GIO, and enhancing the functions needed to establish private cloud platforms. With this new service, IIJ intends to aggressively respond to demand in the enterprise market going forward.

Below is a list of feature highlights.

Creates a cloud-based virtual environment optimized for enterprise system needs

Unlike typical Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) platforms, the IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series provides a virtualized platform that enables users to freely design and set up a virtual server. It employs VMware vSphere, a virtual technology made by VMware, Inc., and comes combined with VMware vCenter Server, which centralizes the control of virtual machines. The VMware environment is compatible with a large number of dedicated business applications available on the market, so customers can easily set up a wide range of systems on IIJ GIO by using the IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series as their platform. IIJ has also utilized storage products made by EMC Corporation, which possesses broad expertise in storage disk hardware, to offer a diverse storage menu compatible with various storage networking protocols including NFS, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel. By taking advantage of these benefits, users can reduce their initial investment, keep operating costs low, and easily meet the various criteria needed to create an enterprise system on a cloud-based platform.

Enables users to freely combine all kinds of add-ons and create a flexible system

The IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series allows users to freely combine all kinds of add-on menus such as monitoring systems and network connections provided by IIJ GIO component services. More than 1,000 kinds of add-ons can be configured, giving each customer more flexibility to customize their system than ever before, as well as a high operational flexibility to modify the virtual platform.

Comes with a software platform service that enables safe downloading of various kinds of necessary software

From August 2012, IIJ will make a software distribution portal available to continuously provide software applications that can be used with the IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series, including OSs, virtual appliances, and business applications. This will enable users to safely download required software from a secure source so that they can quickly set up their servers. In the future, IIJ plans to offer a wide range of additional services such as software image storage, licensing management, and billing handling services.

In the event of a disaster, this portal service can be used as a hybrid cloud with a customer's on-premise environment to recover data. In the future, IIJ plans to collaborate with Networld Corporation to develop effective disaster recovery solutions using VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager.

IIJ will give the highest priority to improving the performance of the IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series by taking into account enterprise needs, while developing and broadening optimum services and solutions for the private cloud computing market.

IIJ GIO Virtual Platform VW Series service menu

VMware vSphere ESXi server

H240VW, H240VW-FC

Data storage

NFS, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel

Standard speed, high speed, and ultra-high speed

Networks

Internet, local, and component connectivity

Note: "VMware" "vSphere" mentioned herein are the trademarks and registered trademarks of VMware Inc. in U.S.A and other countries. All other company names, logos, product names, and other such items mentioned herein are the properties of their respective trademark holders.

IIJ Global Solutions Singapore is dedicated to providing cutting-edge and reliable cloud service to clients. With the fusion of Japanese heritage and local vibe, we are looking forward to working with the best talents from all backgrounds.